grayworld's self-publishing journey, in black and white

March Update

Well, the Signal Fire release (sales-wise, anyway) was less-than-impressive. When I published A World Gone Gray in late-November 2013, I averaged about a sale per day for the first month. Signal Fire? Not so much. The raw numbers:

Signal Fire: 8 total sales (6 via Amazon US, 1 via Amazon UK, and 1 via Smashwords)

A World Gone Gray: 3 total sales (2 via Amazon US, 1 via Smashwords)

I'd hoped Signal Fire's sales would match AWGG's debut, but that didn't quite happen. I'd also hoped that the release of the new novel would spark renewed interest in the old one. Again, that didn't quite happen.

Thankfully, not all successes are measured in sales. On the plus side, I added about 25 Twitter followers in March. I also received my first four reviews, most of which were positive. One of my ongoing goals has been to update my blog roughly twice a week, and I've managed to accomplish that over the past couple of months.

So all in all, I'm mostly pleased with March, 2014. If anyone's interested, I blogged in slightly more detail about the month that was on (coincidentally enough) my blog: http://bpbroome.wordpress.com/2014/04/01/march-after-action-review/

Wow! Thank you so much, Ann Joyce! I really hope you enjoy it.

klswaim said:

May I inquire about your book covers? I find them quite lovely. Did you use the Createspace service?

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Hi, klswaim. I'm glad you like the covers. I actually purchased all of them (pre-made) through UK-based The Cover Collection. If you're interested, there's a little more information and a link to their site in this old blog post of mine: http://bpbroome.wordpress.com/2014/02/22/drum-roll-please/

cwbrowning said:

It's so discouraging when sales don't happen the way we hope. However, I have learned (and continue to learn) that we can't control sales at all and the sales do not necessarily reflect on us as writers. Sometimes, people just aren't buying. That doesn't help with the disappointment, I know, but I think it's true just the same.

And you're right on with the fact that not all successes are measured in sales! I would be ecstatic if I could add 25 followers to my Twitter or Facebook page! It seems like getting my name out there is kind of like hitting my head against a wall...repeatedly. So, kudos to you for achieving that increase in Twitterland! I also give mad props for achieving your goal of updating your blog twice a week. That is my weakest spot. Maybe I'll set myself a similar goal and see what happens...

Keep going and great things will come!

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Thank you for the kind words, cwbrowning!

I've been on vacation this week, so I've had some extra free time to play around with marketing, social media, and all that good stuff. My brilliant plan for the week was to offer a 25% off coupon at Smashwords for my first novel, then tweet about it occasionally (without going all Spambot3000, hopefully), using appropriate hashtags. I've found that both reading- and writing-related topics trend pretty often, which is helpful. Oddly, Indianapolis (where I live) also trends nationally quite a bit, which means I can sometimes double-dip and (theoretically) reach lots of local readers. So far, I've gotten huge spikes in pageviews, along with modest spikes in sample downloads (which I consider a potential sale). No sales at Smashwords yet, but I've had three at Amazon (almost matching my total for all of March). Of course, there's no way of knowing if the Amazon sales are related to the extra tweeting, pure chance, more people buying books in general, or the alignment of the planets.

On a side note, I noticed the other day that I sold a copy of A World Gone Gray late last month through Apple. It was my first sale outside of the Amazon and Smashwords sites, and was a nice surprise.

cwschizzy said:

Keep the good work up, and thank you for the great link to that covers site.

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Thanks, cwschizzy. I think they're a great find, too.

Just wanted to check in with my April review. Okay "wanted" isn't quite the word, but here we go:

April tied my personal record for fewest sales in a month. The hard numbers: I sold five copies of A World Gone Gray and two copies of Signal Fire (thanks again, Ann Joyce!) at Amazon, all in the US. Otherwise, nothin'.

This past month was actually a little disheartening. I had a rare week off from work in April, so I hit the social media scene (for me, that's Twitter and Wordpress) pretty hard. I created a $1-off coupon at Smashwords, then advertised both it and the Amazon incarnations of my books via Twitter. The results were...uninspiring. A grand total of nothing.

Oddly enough, I attracted over 300 Twitter followers in April, 90% of whom aren't offering me 1000 more followers for $29. Or catfishing or outright scamming. This uptick in followers has resulted in more Favorites and Re-Tweets, but no additional sales thus far. I'm actually in the midst of the longest sales rut of my "illustrious" five-month publishing career—almost two weeks now.

There is a bright side, though. Finances willing, I plan on releasing one of my mainstream/contemporary novels sometime this month. I'm a little nervous about the genre-shift (though it's not like I have a fan-base or anything), but I'm looking forward to it. Something different.

Ann Joyce said:

Thanks for the update, Gray. Though I know it doesn't feel like it to you, I don't think those sales are that bad for a new author. For sure, you had a better April than I did. It's slow going when we're trying to build our brand. I hope things pick up for you in May. Write on!

P.S. I really enjoyed Signal Fire, and yes, it was me that left a review.

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Thanks so much, Ann Joyce. I'm really glad you enjoyed Signal Fire. The sequel should be ready to go around Thanksgiving. In the meantime, I have two mainstream/contemporary novels due out in May/June and August/September, respectively. One's a "summertime" book and the other's an election story, so hopefully the timing of their releases make sense.

And thanks LBlankenship, cwbrowning, and klswaim for the support. klswaim must be the one who broke my sales-less streak. I've already got two in May. Thank you!

SunshineonMe said:

Here's my suggestion, (I hope someone hasn't already said this. Haven't read the whole thread) put a "sneak peek" in the back of your first book of the first couple chapters of your second book. Then a direct link to buy it. Congratulations btw~ You have amazing covers!!

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Thanks for the complement on the covers, SunshineonMe. I like them too Your suggestion about adding back matter to the first book is a good one. I saw it recommended in one of the guides I used while formatting (I think it was the Smashwords version), but at the time I was just happy to cobble together a presentable book, considering my lack of experience with formatting. I was also a little self-conscious about tooting my own horn. I had one of those "who the hell do I think I am?" moments and decided against advertising the next novel.

I've found a dozen or so minor typos in A World Gone Gray in the meantime, so if I ever get around to uploading the cleaned-up copy, I'll add the back matter, too. I'm slightly less intimidated by formatting now. Slightly.

May After-Action Review

May turned out to be my worst month sales-wise, but I did manage to make inroads on other fronts. I'm steadily attracting Twitter followers, which is a good thing. Here are the raw numbers:

A World Gone Gray: 3
Signal Fire: 2

All sales at Amazon US. On the plus side, I recorded one sale of each of the above titles at Apple via Smashwords back in April, so those can be added to last month's figures. I'll take all the good news I can get

I did slack a bit when it comes to my blog. I'd been steadily adding 6-8 posts per month, but only managed four in May. I've decided that the time spent on my blog would be better spent on my WIP. Those extra three or four thousand words might come in handy in actual books.

My one promotion this month was a $1-off offer on all of my books at Smashwords that I've been promoting through Twitter (close to 800 followers now). As with my last promo, I'm getting about 30 pageviews per tweet, a handful of free downloads, and zero sales. But I did get two last-minute sales at Amazon. I have no idea if there's any connection. But maybe that bodes well for June.

So I finally pulled the trigger on an unconventional romantic comedy I wrote about five years ago. I'd been wishy-washy about it for half a decade, but I happened to run into the perfect cover (the one in my avatar) for it last week and decided to go forward with it. If all goes according to plan, it'll be available at Amazon on June 13th.

Many more details here at my humble blog: http://bpbroome.wordpress.com/2014/06/07/and-now-for-something-completely-different/

Thank you for the support, Old Hack and Norman D Gutter. And sorry for the spamminess of my last post, Old Hack. Guess I got a little giddy about the new release. I'm still relatively new, and I'll try to dial it down.